Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ________________________________ This is a story about a sexual FANTASY
written for consenting adults.  If you're not both of those, don't read it.
Characters in a FANTASY don't get sick or die unless I want them to.  In
real life, people who don't use condoms and other safe-sex techniques do
get sick and die.  You don't live in a FANTASY so be safe.  The fictional
characters in my stories are trained and experienced in acts of FANTASY -
don't try to do what they do - someone could get hurt.

   If you think you know somebody who resembles any of the characters here,
congratulations, but you're wrong - any similarity between the characters
in this story and any real person is purely coincidental, since all of
these characters are figments of my dirty little imagination.

   This is my story, not yours.  Don't sell it or put it on a pay site. 
You can keep it and/or give it away with all of this information intact,
but if you make money off of it without my permission, you're breaking the
law and pissing me off.  _________________________________ Body Guards II:
Stolen Secrets - Chapter 7 (nosex) (C)Copyright 2005 - Shakes Peer2B
shakes_peer2b@NONOsbcglobal.net (remove 'NONO' from the above address to
contact me)
http://storiesonline.net/library/author.php?name=Shakes_Peer2B
/files/Authors/Shakes_Peer2B/

   ________

   Upon landing after our flight from Manila, our first order of business
after leaving the airport was to shower and change clothes.

   Sun and Jun had reported by phone from the Philippines.  The consensus
among the ladies of Gemini was that China would write them off now and
leave them alone.  Had they killed Huang, the People's Republic might have
been incensed enough to keep coming after them.  Having destroyed his
secret weapon, and demonstrated that they could get to him easily, however,
Sun and Jun, and Mei and Wei felt that his government would cut its losses
and leave them alone.  Also, leaving him alive when, clearly, they could
have killed him, made it hard for Huang to make a case for their being out
of control.

   Sun and Jun drove up in a company SUV as I emerged from my front door. I
climbed into the the back seat only to be greeted by a recovered Mei and an
excited Wei.

   My mind-mates had obviously filled them in on our new relationship.

   "We are very pleased to meet you, Darren!" Mei said, extending a
delicate-looking hand.  I had, of course, known that the other twins were
with Sun and Jun, but the warmth and excitement of their greeting surprised
me a little.  Mei, I noticed, now had a few scars of her own.  Like Jun,
she wore them proudly, having taken them in the performance of her duty.

   I touched the scars respectfully.  "I'm glad that you are well, Mei.  It
is an honor to finally meet you and your sister Wei."

   It had become my habit during our trek across China to 'taste' the
energy of people we met along the way.  I had come to rely on this practice
more and more as a way of knowing what kind of person I was dealing with.
As my fingers traced Mei's scars, my chi casually reached out to hers,
touched, and just like that, we were five.

   With a shock like falling into icy water, Sun, Jun, Mei, Wei, and I
simultaneously realized what I had done!  A huge silence fell over our
thoughts as the import of this hit us all at once, like the hole left in
the ocean when a boulder falls from a cliff.  Then, like the ocean rushing
to fill the void, a cacophony of thought exploded in our shared
consciousness!

   Realizing the futility of trying to break in on that torrent of thought
and emotion, I sort of pulled myself aside and 'watched.' I had never
actually tried to disengage from my bond with Sun and Jun, but, as an
experiment, I tried it now - with no result.  The bond, it seemed, once
formed, was permanent.  Now what we had to do was figure out what to do
with it.

   The pairs of twins, having lived their lives in mental contact with each
other, but having this intimate contact with only one other person, had
felt somewhat isolated from the world.  As a result, all four were ecstatic
at now having the same bond with, not only the other sisters, but a whole
new person - one that none of them had 'known' before a couple of months
ago!

   Sun and Jun were only too happy to welcome Mei and Wei into our little
menage a cinq, and the feeling, apparently, was mutual.  I was slightly
less enthusiastic, being newer to this kind of joining, and like most
people, a bit wary of change.

   We must have sat there in Gemini Security's SUV for fifteen or twenty
minutes while Sun and Jun shared with the other two girls their experience
with me as a trio.  (Yes, even the sex.) Mei and Wei, like the other two,
lived and breathed security, especially security of their employer, and the
possibilities of this five way, automatic, instantaneous communication
network that gave immediate access to the thoughts and senses of all were
as exciting to them as the sex.  They didn't forget about the sex, though,
and many times during that 'getting acquainted' period, I felt their
lustful thoughts turning in my direction.

   Sun and Jun had no possessive feelings toward me, at least where the
other two were concerned, and were more than willing to share, so the idea
began to grow on me as well - until the question of what to do about their
current employer came up.  This lead me also to thoughts of Talibah.  That
kind of put a damper on things.  All four girls felt real affection for
Steve Hastings, over and above their conditioned loyalty, and somewhere
between Germany and Austria, a lifetime ago, something had begun growing
between Talibah and I.

   It was pretty clear that these problems didn't have easy solutions and
would have to work themselves out over time.

   Finally, Sun, behind the wheel, started the vehicle and pulled out of my
driveway.  Mei and Wei brought us up to speed on what had happened since we
had gone to China.

   Talibah was recovering from her wound, convalescing in the guest house
of Steve Hastings' estate where her mother nursed her back to health, once
she was released from the Hospital.

   Frank McKenzie, the CIA agent we had questioned in Frankfurt, had
decided to take the ladies up on their offer and had gone to work for
Gemini Security.  Since he was fluent in Farsi, he had been assigned to the
detail guarding Talibah and Ifra.  Their status was pretty uncertain.  On
the one hand they had both helped us in their own way, but it was difficult
to make a case with the State Department for permanent residency for a
former Al-Qaeda operative, especially one who refused to give up her former
comrades.

   I was impressed with the guards on duty at Hastings' estate.  Even
though they clearly recognized the girls, they did a thorough job of
checking badges, going through a coded exchange of pleasantries, and
quizzing the girls about me and my purpose for being there.  During the
exchange, had the girls been under some sort of duress, they would have
answered with a particular phrase that would have tipped the guards to
their condition.  All four were mentally critiquing the guards'
performance, even as their pride swelled at the professionalism their
employees showed.

   Steve Hastings, far from being the potbellied, soft shelled businessman
that one might expect, was lean and trim.  The girls were proud of the way
he had taken to their training, as well.  He too engaged the girls in a
coded exchange, just in case the guards had missed something.

   "So, these young ladies tell me you may be joining Gemini Security."
Hastings said, taking my hand in a firm grip as he greeted us at the
doorway to his home.  Despite the impeccable tailoring of his suit, I could
just make out the bulge of a weapon under his right arm.  This puzzled me
at first, since he was clearly right handed.  All four girls harmonized on
the explanation of how they had trained him to draw with his off-hand to
put attackers off guard.  This would also allow him to draw his weapon even
when shaking hands.  Their side thoughts filled in the details on how he
could now shoot accurately with either hand.

   "Actually," I replied, returning his grip without trying to make a
contest of it, "We haven't discussed it in any detail, but I'm leaning more
toward a merger.  My business and theirs could each benefit from the
special skills we bring to the table, but neither requires all of us, all
of the time."

   The girls, being centered around the security business, hadn't
considered expanding into my area of expertise, but I could see that the
prospect intrigued them.  I could see also, in Mei/Wei's thoughts, that
Hastings knew about my connection with Sun/Jun, but he could not, as yet,
know that the other two had been dragged into our web.  Since Mei/Wei felt
it their duty to tell him, I kept my mouth shut, but cautioned them that
they needed to do it before I spoke with Talibah, who, as far as anyone
knew, was not in the loop at all.

   Steve's lovely wife Judy joined us from a doorway off the foyer,
accompanied by a bright-eyed, dark haired young lady of maybe twelve.  I
had touched Hastings' chi and found it strong and forthright.  His wife's,
though softer, had a tempered steel core.  She was as honest as a woman
constrained to live in modern society can be - accepting the little
subterfuges of makeup and such as mildly irritating necessities while doing
her best to prove that her beauty came from inside, not from the chemicals
or clothing she wore.  I was a little jealous of her husband.

   I turned to greet the younger Hastings, and as I reached out with my
hand and my chi, the girls pulled me back, mentally.

   'This is Steve and Wei's daughter, Stephanie' Mei cautioned, 'We have
suspected, for some time, that she could eavesdrop on our connection.  If
that's so, it seems to be intermittent, but with you in the mix, that might
change.  Let's not take a chance of bringing her permanently into this bond
just yet.  We have been open with her about sex, but so far she has not
participated.  If she is present mentally and emotionally while we have
sex, though, we may not be able to suppress the urges she picks up from
us."

   This entire 'speech' occurred as my hand was reaching to take
Stephanie's, so I held my chi in check and merely shook her hand.  Her
almond eyes seemed to peer into my soul.  Apparently, they liked what they
saw, because she tiptoed and gave me a peck on the cheek, saying, "I'm so
glad that Aunt Sun and Aunt Jun have someone else to be in their heads with
them.  I think they were lonely before."

   "They will never be lonely again, Ms.  Hastings," I promised, drawing a
giggle over the formality of my address.

   "I only wish you could do the same thing for my Mom and..." she broke
off and I turned to see what my mind had already picked up.  Wei, with a
subtle change of expression, was signalling 'don't go there.'

   Stephanie's eyes went wide, and I could see that she had instantly
realized the reason for Wei's warning.  She glanced at each of us, the
smile growing on her face.  When her gaze turned to her Father, the smile
had disappeared as if by magic.  THIS was one smart cookie!

   "When are you going to tell him?" she whispered so that only Wei and I
could hear.

   "Soon," her mother answered.

   Stephanie scampered off to do whatever exceptionally intelligent twelve
year old's do when their fathers have more money than they'll ever spend
and their mothers can kill you without breaking a sweat.  My guess was that
the class of Stephanie's peers was exceedingly small.

   "Come into the sitting room," Judy invited.  "There's someone here
you'll want to see."

   My chi had already told us that there were two women there, and I was
not surprised to see Talibah and her mother.

   Talibah looked a little pale and thinner than she had been in Germany,
but seemed to be recovering well.  She stood as I came in and greeted me
with tears in her eyes.

   "I was so afraid you had been killed!" she said as she hugged me.

   Her concern, and relief at my well-being were genuine, and she was
holding something back, but I would have to wait to find out what it was.
Talibah introduced me to her mother, who, for maybe the first time in her
life, having had enough to eat for the last two months, did not look as old
as I had pictured her.  Indeed, the memory in Mei's mind of how she looked
in Afghanistan was a far cry from the woman before me.

   "Ifra," I said in Farsi, taking her hand and making a show of kissing
the back of it.  "I see now why Talibah is so beautiful."

   Ifra sniffed and tossed her head at my foolishness, but didn't take her
hand away, and I could swear she turned a couple of shades darker.

   "I owe your daughter my life," I said seriously.  "And I'm told that Mei
owes hers to you, so if there is anything that either of you need..."

   In my mind's eye, I saw the ladies of Gemini taking Steve and his wife
aside, and, while telling the story of our trip to China at Talibah's
insistence, 'listened' in on the conversation as they told him of our new
relationship.  It was odd how this sort of mental separation had become
second nature to me, but during our trek across the People's Republic, it
had been necessary for all of us.  Sun and Jun taught me how they managed,
and with practice, I got pretty good at it.

   Hastings, thankfully, was not the jealous type.  He and Judy had a
healthy sex life of their own.  While neither was inclined to bring a
stranger into their bed, both could see the advantages for the twins in
having the five way link.  At the same time, they understood how passion
communicated directly, mind-to-mind, would be difficult to ignore.  That
was okay with me.  I had no desire to join them in their bed, and as long
as they weren't going to be possessive, the girls thought it would be nice
to have more choices in their sex lives.

   "But you said there were seven of those men," Ifra interjected as my
story progressed.  "How were you able to defeat them all?"

   "I have had a great deal of training in martial arts, both in the
Military, and with Sun and Jun," I answered, unwilling, as yet to bring up
my link with the ladies.  "In the close quarters of the room, it was easy
to use my hands and feet to strike them, but difficult for them to bring
their rifles into position to fire."

   I was speaking in Farsi for their benefit, while following the other
conversation and tracking the movements of another body that was entering
the room.

   "You can believe him, Ifra." Frank Mckenzie said, also in Farsi.  "I
know from experience that he's good with his hands!"

   I turned with a grin on my face and gripped the former CIA man's hand.
"Glad to see you've changed sides!" I said.

   "I didn't change sides," He replied, also grinning.  "The Company did,
and I didn't want any part of it."

   My chi was telling me what my instincts had already implied - Frank
McKenzie would be a good man to have on our side.

   "I don't know what good an ex-jarhead will do us," I teased, "but I
guess if the brass needs polishing or something, you could lend a hand."

   "Hell, somebody's got to pull you squids out of whatever messes you get
into, and those Chinese ladies know it!  That's why they hired me - so they
don't have to babysit you all the time!"

   "Believe me, Frank," Sun laughed as their little conference broke up,
"he babysits us as much as we do him.  He's a VERY good babysitter!"

   The way she said that - low and sexy - made McKenzie turn red, not sure
whether he should be should be trading sexual innuendo with his new bosses
or not.

   "Relax, Frank!" Wei laughed.  "We're informal about everything except
getting the job done.  You hold up your end, and nobody's going to care
whether you throw out a few four letter words now and then."

   "If it's all the same to you, boss," Frank grinned as he replied, "I
learned a long time ago that the only time it's safe to get out of line
with a superior is when you can kick his, or in this case her, ass.  From
what I've seen working out with Mei and Wei, I think it's best if I mind my
P's and Q's around the four of you.  THIS guy, on the other hand," he
jerked a thumb in my direction.  "I'm going to take down to the gym as soon
as possible and establish a pecking order!"

   Sun/Jun and Mei/Wei laughed mentally as Jun answered for the four of
them.  "I think we would like ringside seats for that match.  You know
Darren had to disable our former teacher to get out of that hotel room in
Beijing, don't you?"

   I hadn't gotten to that part of the story yet, and the look on
Mckenzie's face was priceless.  Sheepishly he grinned, held out the back of
a hand and said, "I guess that pecking order's already established.  Peck
away, sailorboy."

   I clapped him on the shoulder and we got back to catching up on current
events with the whole group now participating.  Now that Hastings knew the
latest about me and his bodyguards, the way was clear for me to discuss it
with Talibah, but it looked to be a while before I would be able to have a
private conversation with her.

   There were a couple of odd things going on in the room, but I couldn't
put my finger on them.  I had already noted that Talibah was holding
something inside, and while Frank was an easygoing guy, there was just the
barest tension in him, as well.  Steve Hastings, too, seemed to be waiting
for something.

   Finally, things wound down a bit and I was able to guide Talibah into
the library while the Gemini girls drifted off with Steve Hastings to his
study.

   Rather than trying to narrate the parallel conversations as such, allow
me to present them as separate discussions.  Believe me, it will be a lot
easier to read.

   As I closed the door to the library, Talibah turned to me with a worried
expression on her face.

   "Darren, I..." she began, as I started with, "There's something..."

   Finally, we sorted it out that she would go first, and Talibah insisted
that I sit as she said her piece.

   "In Germany, and later in Salzburg," she said, pacing, "I began to have
very strong feelings for you, Darren."

   I nodded in acknowledgement.  One doesn't throw oneself in front of a
bullet for another person lightly, so I guessed she might have had such
feelings.

   "You treated me with respect, even when you didn't trust me," she
continued.  "And I had never met a man who could do that.  Even those who
trusted me didn't treat me with respect.  They looked down on me because of
some of the things I did to get the information we needed."

   I waited, sympathizing with her, but knowing that was not the point of
her soliloquy.

   "When I awoke here, in the cleanest bed I had ever slept in, surrounded
by people who were genuinely concerned about me, and not just what I could
do for them, I thought I HAD died from that bullet, but that was not the
case.  You understand that much of what this man, Hastings, does, is done
for your Government, yes?" She continued, somewhat disjointedly.  "So, when
I came out of the hospital, they brought me here, with my Mother, but they
could not trust me, you know?"

   Yes, I knew.  Now, I knew she could be trusted to a point, but no one
else did.

   "Anyway, they had to have someone stay with me and my Mother at all
times, to make sure we didn't spy on Mr.  Hastings, or try to blow up his
company." She smiled a little at that.  "Frank was one of the people they
assigned for that, since he speaks Farsi, and my mother is only beginning
to learn English."

   Talibah was wringing her hands as she paced, searching for words.

   "He is so much like you, Darren!" she finally burst out, giving me my
first clue about what I had been sensing.  "He was kind and respectful, not
only to me, but to my Mother, as well, even though his assignment was to
not trust us!  He was always here, telling a joke, cheering me up when I
worried about you, sympathizing with my Mother when she got homesick... 
Darren, I just...  I couldn't help it!"

   I sat there feeling relieved and broken-hearted at the same time.  On
the one hand, telling her about my relationship with Mei/Wei/Sun/Jun would
be unnecessary, but I suppose I had harbored hope that somehow she could
have gotten past that and would still want me.  I realized it was selfish
of me, but it still hurt.  No matter.  Her course had been set.  Frank was
a good man and would be good for her.

   I stood and took her in my arms, whispering, "I won't pretend it doesn't
hurt, Talibah, but it is a wound that will heal.  I will never forget what
you did for me, but I cannot repay your selflessness by making you my
prisoner.  Frank is a good man, and unless I miss my guess, he has fallen
head over heels for you, so I wish you well.  Both of you."

   To my surprise, when I released her, there were tears on my cheeks.  No
matter.  I kissed Talibah lightly on her cheek and held her at arm's
length, taking one more look at what might have been.

   "You're not angry?" She asked.

   "Angry?" I replied, searching within me.  "No.  Sad, yes, a little hurt,
but happy for you.  This is too important to lie about, Talibah.  As far as
I'm concerned, you deserve all the happiness you can get, but you tell that
Marine that if he ever hurts you I'll come down on him like a ton of
bricks, okay?"

   She smiled forlornly at that and tiptoed to peck me on the cheek.

   "Thank you, Darren."

   We found Frank pacing the hall outside the library.  I gave him a
good-natured hard time about stealing my girl while I was away fighting the
bad guys, and repeated the warning I had told Talibah to give him, but on
the whole it felt right, and I was genuinely happy for both of them.

   As soon as I could, I broke off from the two lovebirds and went to catch
the tail-end of the discussion in the study in person.

   ----

   Sun and Jun entered and found comfortable seats, followed by Steve
Hastings, who sat behind his desk, and Mei and Wei who took a couple more
side chairs.  They kept glancing at each other as if they couldn't really
believe that, through me, they now had a link between sets of twins.

   "I asked you four to join me, because I wanted to discuss what to do
next, and this doesn't really concern Mr.  Winchell," Hastings began,
pausing when he saw the smiles on all four female faces.  When he realized
what they were smiling about he got this kind of lopsided grin on his face.

   "Oh," he said.  "Well, maybe it does after all.  I assume he can hear me
too?"

   "Yes," Sun answered.  "But he's a little distracted.  He's busy getting
dumped."

   The four of them giggled about that and I thought daggers at them until
they stopped, sending out feelings of sympathy and support, instead.

   "Yes, well," Hastings went on, a bit distracted himself.  "Can we trust
this Winchell?"

   The four of them looked at each other.  They knew they trusted me, but
had to think for a moment about why that was.  As one, they turned back to
their employer and said, "I trust him like I trust my sister!"

   Hastings, a little surprised by the chorused answer, cleared his throat
before beginning his speech, "Anyway, I've been thinking about our
Government's involvement in this latest adventure, and have decided not to
put Proteus up for bid until after the next election.  Then, whether or not
I offer it to them will depend on how the election turns out.  Bob and I
have discussed this, and we're in agreement.  We don't really want it in
the hands of a foreign government, but then this administration acts more
like a foreign government than it ought, so we can't, in good conscience,
offer it to them, either."

   "They've always had people on site, though we've restricted them to the
project areas where they've already purchsed the product," Mei said.  "Do
you think they know what Proteus is?"

   "I've thought about that, and I can't believe that if they knew its
capabilities they would have taken the chance of it falling into the hands
of the People's Republic." Hastings replied, shaking his head.  "No, I
think if they knew, they might have tried to get it for themselves, but
wouldn't have wanted anyone else to have it."

   "The thing is," he continued, "it, and our countermeasures for it have
passed all our internal testing.  What they need is a field trial."

   All five of us wondered why a couple of products that were going to get
put on a shelf for a while needed field testing.  From the thoughts of the
Gemini ladies I began to get a picture of what Proteus was - an insect
sized robot that was designed to seek out computer systems in secure
locations, and plant a virus in them.  This particular virus would allow
the person, organization, or government controlling the devices to
eavesdrop on everything of interest that went on in the system in which it
was planted.  It would keep a record within the computer's memory until the
robot dropped by and picked up the waiting package, removing all traces of
the virus in the process.  Between advanced compression algorithms never
used anywhere else, and proprietary memory technology, each robot was
capable of crawling away with many gigabytes of sensitive data.

   The device itself was designed to connect into any sort of communication
port, using a set of microscopic probes to find the proper contacts and
interpret a variety of protocols.  It could even penetrate the insulation
of wires plugged into the computer and gain access that way.  Since it
worked by physically penetrating secure areas, and was mobile, a single
device could 'bug' a number of different systems, leaving its virus in
each, then, on its return trip, it would simply 'harvest' the collected
information and patiently crawl out of the area, past security measures,
and, once outside, wait for a signal from its host to transmit the data it
carried.  The entire process could take days, but because of its size and
relative invisibility, it didn't need to be all that sophisticated about
breaching computer or network security - since it made its entry from
places only authorized personnel should be able to reach, it wouldn't even
register in most system security measures.

   "Why test it now?" Mei asked for all of us.

   "Because I want to see to it that our Government stops using its
intelligence agencies to further the interests of foreign governments,"
their boss replied.  "I know that your expertise has allowed you to get at
some files that you shouldn't be able to reach, but I want irrefutable
proof of what's going on between foreign governments, Congress, and the
Intelligence community.  When I have that proof, I'll decide how best to
apply it."

   "Most of the information you want should be in the systems at Langley,"
Wei put in.  "How will you get a device into CIA headquarters?"

   "I thought about having Frank take them in on some pretext or another,
but I'm not quite sure of him," Hastings said.  "For all I know, he could
be a plant."

   That was when I joined them physically, in the study.

   "Let Talibah take them." I said.  The Gemini Girls, as I was beginning
to think of them (to their amusement), understood at once, but they had the
advantage of sharing my mind.  "Now that she's recovered, for the most
part, she's scheduled to go to Langley for questioning about her part in
this fiasco, and it would be the perfect opportunity to send the Proteus
devices in with her.  She wouldn't have to know, and from what I
understand, they're small enough that it would take a REALLY fine toothed
comb to find them.  Conceal them on her person and program them to crawl
away once she's in the building."

   They thought about it, and though no one said anything, the discussion
shifted from how to get the devices into the CIA to what to do once they
were inside.